S21 Cup Recap: Qualifiers (Second Leg)

[Daleks]

<< Qualifiers (First Leg)

Welcome once again to my Cup Matchday Recap! Last time we went over the first leg of matches in the qualifier round of the cup, and today we go over the second leg of the qualifier round matches.

The first leg saw a lot of interesting results. Rapid Magyar upsetting Seoul in a fantastic performance, Montreal domination that turned into a valiant comeback attempt from Inter London, a Kaapstad vs Krung Thep thriller and a very comfortable Athenai performance.

Will there be any wild momentum changes in this next round of matches?

You might be saying: ‘Daleks, this article is extremely late. R16 matches have all been played already’.
And to that I say: ...

Anyway, onto the matches:

Rapid Magyar SC (7)3-2(4) Seoul MFC

21'     – D. Doug II (A. Bunson)
26'     – P. Kawasaki (own goal)
39'     – T. Justinussen
45'+2 – R. Panda (C. Salazar)
81'     – A. Simmons (R. Panda)

Key takeaways:
One of the main talking points last week was the surprise upset result that Rapid Magyar achieved over Seoul MFC. Rapid Magyar at this current moment is still bottom of the league table, and Seoul is near the top with a strong season so far, losing only to North Shore by 1 goal.
Seoul tried to set the tempo early, only to be immediately hit by a deflected shot by Magyar’s David Doug II. Seoul continued sinking as Kawasaki accidentally redirected the ball into his own net.
Athenai tried getting back into the match with some heroics from Panda, but the aggregate score lead from Magyar was still too much to handle.

It is worth noting that one could say that Doug’s and Kawasaki’s goals were, in a sense, lucky. One might wonder if Seoul could have advanced to the next round of the cup today if the winds flew a different direction.

Magyar go to the next round of the cup, improving on their cup result from their first ever season.

Player of the match: Red Panda
Panda showed a lot of offensive quality in this match. His passing success rate might seem low, but it is a bit misleading. With only 18 passes, he managed to get 4 key passes and 1 assist. The number of failed passes only come to a count of 6. Combined with a fantastic shooting performance, Panda has been the clear MVP of Seoul today.

A match to forget for: Diglett Primarus
Primarus did not have much impact on the pitch today. Not even a single interception to speak off is a bit disappointing. In a game where they conceded 3 goals, more effort could have been put in.

Player of note: David Doug II
Just barely lost the POTM award to Red Panda. Doug put in a masterful performance today. His goal, while a bit lucky, set a tempo for Magyar that Seoul found hard to break. His fantastic defensive performance, combined with his reliable passing and accurate shooting makes this a match he will remember for quite some time.

Montreal United (8)4-0(2) Inter London

22' – C. Power (M. Sinclair)
39' – M. Sinclair (T. Takahashi)
45' – T. Takahashi
83' – M. Xavier (p)

Key takeaways:
London tried to capitalise on their second half performance in the previous leg that gave them a glimmer of hope to perhaps be able to make a big upset in this match. Unfortunately for them, Montreal took an early lead and never looked back. While London seemed like they were given a new breath of life in the second half, it was too late to recover, and their fate was sealed as Xavier converted a penalty in the last 10 minutes of the game.

Montreal makes it to the next round of the cup in professional fashion.

Player of the match: Takeda Takahashi
A goal, an assist and plenty of key passes and dribbles along the way. Takahashi finished a job left unfinished in the first leg. A rather poor aerial success rate might be a bit of a mark, but the rest of their game spoke for themselves.

A match to forget for: Predrag Dobrić
A player that has begun to shine greatly in his second season in Montreal, this match was a bit of a downer. Lack of impact in offense and an injury which seemed to really affect their game makes this a match where he is lucky to have not been needed very much.

Player of note: Stun Gun Jr.
A great performance for the still fresh London goalkeeper. 4 goals conceded seem like a big negative, but Montreal was relentless with their shooting today. The match could have ended worse if it was not for the work of Stun Gun Jr.
 

Krung Thep FC (4)1-2(5) F.C. Kaapstad

3'   – B. Elliott (G. McGary)
4'   – H. Fantobens (G. Atliketwopercent)
29' – C. Skovgaard

Key takeaways:

Coming into this matchday, everyone knew this was going to be the match to watch. Two great teams that had an exciting tie in the first leg.

The match kicked off into high gear immediately as Krung Thep managed to score a goal in just the 3’ minute with a quick run by Elliott. Kaapstad answered back immediately after. Another goal just 25 minutes later would see Kaapstad take the lead and continue their momentum as they relentlessly attacked the Krung Thep defence all game. No other goal would come off it, which is perhaps a bit disappointing considering the number of chances the Kaapstad side had.

Kaapstad makes it to the next round of the cup, and they will be hoping to make another surprise run, despite facing against Major giants.

Player of the match: Patrick Carrigan
To give you some info here:
Kaapstad had an xg of 4’84, with 30 shots, 16 on target. Krung Thep had the opportunity to equalize the entire match, as no shot went past Carrigan anymore after Kaapstad’s second goal.
It’s a heroic performance which sadly will not be remembered much, as Krung Thep has been knocked out of the cup.

A match to forget for: Dom Patterson
Big Dom is an ever-dangerous man, frequently leading Krung Thep to great victories. However, today he was outmatched and frequently read by Kaapstad’s defence, and the heroic equalizer never came.

Player of note: Henry Fantobens
A goal and an assist from Fantobens secures Kaapstad’s victory here and sends them to the next round. A great shooting rate and 6 key passes shows that he was a complete player today.

Cairo City (7)5-5(9) Athenai F.C.

11'     – X. Kenderlin (A. Delo)
16'     – M. Shturm (D. Herrera)
19'     – F. Steele
26'     – D. Lorenzo (F. Steele)
42'     – K. Kunicki (V. Morgenstern)
51'     – F. Steele
57'     – M. Shturm (C. Narvaez Jr.)
90'+1 – T. ULTIMUS
90'+4 – T. ULTIMUS (C. Narvaez Jr.)

Key takeaways:
What a thriller of the match. Athenai were feeling confident coming into this match. Panic, however, quickly settled in as Cairo got a very early lead with 2 goals, tying up the match on aggregate. Athenai hero Steele, who had an excellent match in the first leg, rose up to the occasion and delivered a goal and an assist to bring back the tempo in the match. 
His team followed his lead by scoring another goal, which then lead to Steele putting the final nail in the coffin. Although, a very determined Cairo was not ready to give up. A goal by Shturm gave some hope, and TERMINUS ULTIMUS double goal in extra time made Athenai happy that the clock has run out.

Athenai advances to the next round of the cup, but Cairo should be proud for putting up a great performance till the very end.

Player of the match: Carlos Narvaez Jr.
Incredible match from him. 2 assists with 7 key passes and 2 CC is an incredible stat tally for this match.

Match to forget for: Roy Rivers
Roy Rivers has been a fantastic asset to Athenai this season. However, his impact in this match was minimal.

Player of note: TERMINUS ULTIMUS
If the aggregate score was different, TERMINUS ULTIMUS incredible heroics in added time would have in an alternate world been one of the most incredible comebacks that has been seen in a very long time.

And this was all for this week. This took me perhaps a bit too many days to finish writing. The R16 recap will be a single article that quickly recaps both legs together.
Until then, have a great day.

[Hero19]

Another excellent article mate.

I can't give any criticism to this article! Full of detail, neatly nailed out and a great example of carefully extrapolated data which is all emphasised by the inclusion of graphics.

Media Grade 5/5